


Revelations

by Hollow Girl (Dejahvu)



Series: Eat Me [4]
Category: Pitch Black (2000), Riddick (2013), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: Action, Drama, F/M, Romance, War, rough, triumph
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2018-09-23 23:17:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9686564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dejahvu/pseuds/Hollow%20Girl
Summary: Fiona is dealing with two different personalities, two different lives in her head. Before her memory lose and the five years of living without. As they collide she tries to piece it all together, Riddick by her side.There is more to her than she knows though, and when someone comes looking for her to end her life she finds herself spiraling down a tunnel of purpose. Time ticks by as she tries to regain her mind, but time waits for no man. When they come, knocking down doors and forcing themselves into her life she finds herself once again running. But this time is different. This time she has a life purpose, a direction, a mission, and it doesn't line up with Riddick's at all.Compromise they say. Revelations are in order as the two battle the world once again.





	1. Chapter 1

Fiona gripped the sides of the tree as she leaned her body away to look at her surroundings better. The forest around her, lush with vegetation she still couldn’t pinpoint, was thick and evasive to the sun light high above the canopy. The rays that did leak into the foliage never touched the ground, a second layer of small budding trees just down below, making it impossible.

The tree she was clinging too had flowers near the top, something she had discovered a month ago. They leaned towards the sun as it rose and set, and they’d close at night. The rest of the tree would then glow throughout the evening, a low hum of light that resonated out from behind the bark.

When on the ground, the shade was in his advantage, so she kept herself up high.

The birds that soared far up above were speaking to one another, other critters bouncing from tree to tree around her. If they were aware of her they didn’t seem to mind, but she suspected they didn’t notice. Their chirps of comfort to one another were sacred, noises that hardly ever fell on human ears 

Pressing back into the tree, no sense of where he was, she glanced down at the ground, knowing the only way she was going to get this afternoon over with was to venture into his territory. She did so as quietly as possible, her feet scrapping off pieces of bark here and there. Underneath the _skin_ of the tree was almost transparent. She had never seen anything like it when they had first arrived. The animals that did hear her scurried away and as she dropped down finally, the grass around her ankles, the shadows lurking everywhere, she was greeted with a strange blanketed silence.

She won, half of the time.

As she moved forward, circling the giant trunk of the tree she had just been in, she scanned the surrounding ground, looking amongst the darkness for his outline. Although she could see the different shapes as clearly in the dark as him he had a lot more time with the adjustment to his eyes under his belt.

Lowering herself to squat just at the bottom she peered out at the world around her.

This was home. This had been home for five months now. After landing on the planet, ship out of fuel, no other place closer, they had made a place to call their own. Through struggle, triumph, and learning, she was growing into her new abilities. He helped her as best he could, as much as she would allow him, but there was a distance that she put between them.

Standing again she brushed her legs through the grass, feeling the faint blades on her skin, soft as they slid over her. She could feel his eyes on her, somewhere in the darkness, he was watching. He was hunting her, keeping just out of sight, his senses taking charge every time he stepped into the forest just on the outskirts of their built home. He had once told her, which hunched over a fire in the forest she was now in, that she had a distinct smell that he could identify from miles away. It lingered on her, it stayed with her. She hadn’t said anything in reply.

The thrum of his heartbeat was in her head. She could feel the faint sensation of his slowed down organ and she turned her head to the right, peering into the trees there. He was there, just a few meters away, tucked behind a tree or a rock, she knew it. As he could smell her she could feel him. She had never put into words for him this new-found sensation but she suspected he knew.

She took a few steps forward and ducked behind the next tree, honing her senses in as she tried to listen for him. He had learned her skills over time. At first, she had the advantage. New strength, new senses, he hadn’t expected her to be so good at finding him in the darkness, but she had out witted him a few times in the beginning. But like all things to be learned, Riddick learned her quickly. He prided himself quietly on his ability to adjust to all situations, and he tackled each of her skills one at a time until they were once again equal.

Equal.

Fiona felt a shiver run up her spin as she thought on that for a moment. Just a long enough distraction for Riddick to drop down in front of her and tackle her to the ground. She let out no sound as she counteracted quickly, wrapping her legs around his waist, using her hips to roll them. He was under her for a split second and she was close to taking control but he shifted them with a strength she did not have and pushed her back once again on the soft planted forest floor.

“You’re distracted.” His voice was a purr in the silence, his eyes shining down at her. His goggled were waiting at the entrance they had carved out on the edge of the forest closest to the home. When in here he didn’t need them, and Fiona found herself marveling at the faint milky texture that stared down at her.

She was having trouble. Although she knew, although she could see reason, a part of her held everything back when moments rose. With his body pressed firmly to his, his mouth hovering just an inch from her ear, his warm breath tickling down along her throat, she froze up. She couldn’t think of nothing more than to crawl back into his arms and use his strength as a barrier to the world. But that wasn’t how it worked anymore. That wasn’t the truth, and she found herself plagued with the knowledge that she wasn’t that Fiona, and he wasn’t that Riddick.

She pushed him away and he rolled willingly. She rose, dusting dirt off before striding out of the forest, ignoring Riddick, who kept pace just behind her. He always kept his distance. It infuriated her. She couldn’t make up her mind. She slept away from him, she kept herself secretive, she kept herself private, and he respected that.

As she stepped back into the sun, bathing in the warmth of the clearing they had found five months ago she sighed. Riddick was just behind her, pulling his goggles on over his eyes before taking a few steps out and crowding her small space.

They had been playing in the woods since the second day of being here. After being pint up in the dark and confused through night, when the sun finally came out and touched the trees, Fiona found herself wandering away from Riddick and running into the forest. He had followed and the rest was history. They weren’t Riddick and Fiona; they weren’t the different versions of themselves that had been dancing around one another for so long. They were just two animals playing tag, frolicking in the darkness.

“You ok?”

Fiona furrowed her brows and looked at him, confused as to why he would ask such a thing. He hovered there beside her, a hand extended to touch her shoulder but he didn’t quite make it, his mind changing when she looked at him.

“Fine.” She gave him a rare smile and headed towards the house they had built with their own four hands. The shadows welcomed her as she stepped in and surveyed the area. It was simple, nothing needed to be absorbent. They had pulled the cooking unit, which Riddick had rigged to work off solar power, out of the ship and plopped it down to the left, the panels on top of the roof. In the middle was a fire pit, a hole in the ceiling for the smoke to filter out through. On the right was two beds, a foot apart, both made of leaves and left over clothing and tarps found in the ship.

Fiona dropped down onto her sleeping quarters and stretched out her body. She groaned, looking up at the weaving wood and leaves above her. She needed to bathe, the body of water they used just a few meters down the hill, on the edge of the forest. At first it had felt strange to be in such a public forum, but the thought quickly vanished when Riddick had reminded her that they were the only humans in a planets distance.

“I’ll cook.” Riddick didn’t make noise when he came in so his voice startled her. She didn’t show it however, her eyes peering over towards him as he rummaged through the things they had found on the planet and stored. She silently nodded, picking herself up and a change of clothes. Excusing herself she headed back out down towards the river to get the fresh coat of sweat and dirt off her body.

 

* * *

When she returned, there was smoke billowing out from the roof, the smell of food hitting her nose. Her stomach growled and she smiled softly as she stepped into the home and went to discard her few items. Riddick was there, in front of his bed, shirtless, no goggles, eyes closed. She knew he could tell she was there, but he made no move, his skin bathed in the fire light.

He had scars and remnants of wounds that she knew nothing about. But there were other marks, traces of stitches and puncture wounds that she had been there for. Bullet holes where she had been the one to patch up. Her eyes traced the line of his muscles, his body toned and fit, his armor his skin. Without hesitation, she approached him, her soft hand reaching out and lightly touching one of the slashes on his back. He had gotten those from Johns, back on some forgotten planet. She had been strapped up and gagged, Riddick hog tied and beaten. Johns had gotten his back though, a nice little puncture that almost killed him.

“The food is ready.” His voice was groggy in the silence, his breathing steady as Fiona ran light fingers over the scars. She hummed a soft noise as a response, dropping her fingers from his skin. They stood there, just an inch apart, his back to her, her eyes zeroed in on his toned muscles, for what felt like ages. He never gave his back to anyone and Fiona did not miss the implication of this moment.

With one last sigh she turned away from him and moved towards the fire. But he turned too, and his hand found her hip so quickly she was too startled to react. He steadied her, closing the space between them quickly, pressing his chest into her back. She closed her eyes as he threaded his fingers through her hair, as his other calloused fingers dug into the skin on her hip. A low rumble crawled up his throat and vibrated through her body.

These were the moments.

Her body swelled at his touch, her insides burst with warmth and sensation. She could feel on her skin and in her body his heart beat as it fluttered quickly from his arousal. She could feel him pressed against her, a promise of what they had shared so long ago in some hellish prison. Which was comical, if she thought about it long and hard, she had been willing to submit in the depths of that place but here alone on this quiet planet she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“I understand.” His voice was a break from the moment. His hand brushed over her hip once more before dropping, his fingers gave one more tug on her hair before untangling. He breathed her in for one more second before taking a step back.

Did he though? The thought plagued her, as she thought more and more on it. The last five months had been nothing but a mental bath in all of her insecurities and her past. She was reacquainting herself with herself, two different personalities battling it out in her head. Because if he understood then she needed him to enlighten her, her own understanding of her resistance lost to her with time.

They ate in silence, she watched him from a distance as she ate what she was given and then cleaned up. The fire was dwindling, and sometimes they fell asleep in the light and warmth of it. As she sank onto her bed and sighed, Riddick dropped down onto his own, just inches away. She watched him stretch out, watched his muscles flex under that bronzed flesh that hadn’t had to deal with any pain or suffering in five long months.

And she wondered why she had created such a distance. She wondered why he was still there, when she was refusing to be there herself.


	2. Chapter Two

She knew something was wrong before she opened her eyes. She could hear the outside world chattering away in her ears, the wind swirling around the home they had built. Mornings here were usually quiet, withdrawn. They’d open their eyes to a sleeping world and step outside into the vast emptiness. The world would come alive around them, birds calling out later in the day.

But nothing was quiet. The bugs, the birds, the critters; their chattering was burrowing into her brain. Her senses were waking, her limbs aching from the tumbles she had taken yesterday. With a desire to go back to sleep she tried to cut off from the world. As she tried to focus on the heart beat that always calmed her in the room she felt the sudden dread. His heart was erratic, the thrum of his beat in her ears now, amplified at the staccato beat that was incessant. Opening her eyes abruptly Fiona glanced at Riddick’s bed. Nothing.

“Sleeping beauty finally joins us.” The voice was smooth, a high pitch silk that reached out and startled her. Fiona quickly rose, climbing to her feet and taking in her home that she was certain was empty just seconds ago. But four men stood before her, three of them all matching. The air around her grew thick as the sleep quickly washed away, her eyes finding Riddick forced to his knees, a bit in his mouth, arms pulled behind him. He had blood on his forehead, his eyes closed because of the sun that was pouring in from a newly made hole in the ceiling. “My manners were always something to be desired...”

The fourth man was the one speaking, his pale green skin not an illusion of the light. His eyes were black pits, steadied on her, his red lips stretched from ear to ear in a grin. His attire was gray, the others all in black. His hair milk white, ears elongated. Fiona couldn’t feel them, she couldn’t hear them, she couldn’t smell them. She felt muted in her senses as she tried to figure out what they were, eyes scanning over the four quickly. They seemed to know what she was doing, but none seemed fazed, the leader grinning at her.

“Let him go.” Fiona focused on the new stranger, watching as his smile slipped away slightly. He sighed, dropping his gaze from her and glancing over at Riddick. With a flick of his wrist the two men holding Riddick kicked him in the back, his disapproving grunts of pain filling in the silence. Fiona felt her muscles tense as she watched. Riddick could take any man that held him, so why was this different?

“Now now Fiona, my manners might not be that grand, but this is really no way to treat a guest. I would have thought you would have offered me a drink by now.” The man in gray moved towards her, his fingers fiddling with the gray sleeves of his button up shirt. He was monochromatic in his slacks and shoes and shirt. She watched him perplexed, trying to identify his heart beat, his breath, anything. “Cat got your tongue? Or better yet, your senses?” He chuckled, stopping just in front of her, eyes traveling down to her bare feet.

“What do you want?”

“We’re starting to ask the right questions by dear, there is a brain in that thick skull of yours.” He reached out to knock on her head but she took a step back, eyes bouncing over to Riddick quickly before returning to the man in front of her. “I’m here simply to deliver a message my dear Fiona. That is your name, isn’t it?”

“How do you know who I am?”

“I’ve known who you are long before you yourself knew it, my dear. Prophecies don’t merely pop up without a little... interference if you will.” He chuckled, the noise biting at her ears. She cringed, and he stopped. “The makings of my kind have always been blind to your people. You won’t be able to feel me out child, so stop focusing all your energy on it. It’ll do you no good.” He cleared his throat and took a step back, eyes swiveling to Riddick and his men. Fiona watched, a plan formulating in her mind. If she could just get him out of their hold they could make a run for it. Into the trees, into the darkness. They could be safe there. Figure it out.

“How did you find me?” She wanted to distract the man in gray.

“I’m sorry to say it wasn’t too complicated. That Furyan of yours has quite a reputation and digging up genetic information to run a leave scan is quite simple.” He watched her, not taking her distraction bait at all. “I have a vial of his blood you see, and I can sniff _him_ out. You on the other hand...” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Love gets us in trouble all the time, a lesson you’ll learn quickly.”

Fiona watched as the man in gray cleared his throat and crossed his arms, eyes lingering around the small space. She watched as the two guards holding Riddick followed their leader’s eyes and quickly she dove at them, trying to knock them over. Her fist collided with one, but the other was quick, his hand reaching out and shoving her away. She stumbled back, the strength inside him too much to handle, and ended up on her ass, glaring up at them.

“Good show, good show!” The leader clapped his hands, eyes bouncing from Riddick to Fiona. “We now see our downfalls and our heroine is realizing her inabilities to save that which she loves. Human bodies, so fickle.” The laughter from the leader was misplaced, Fiona never taking her eyes off Riddick who sat mere feet from her, slouched. His eyes had opened slightly, a weakness in them she had never seen before. “Now, the final scene.”

Fiona was yanked up by her hair as she tried to slap the hand away, but the hold was much too strong. The third body guard, who had stayed to the side, was holding her now, one hand around her neck, the other wrapped around her arm. His strength was innumerable, the circulation in her arm cutting off from the hold he had of her. She tried to wiggle from him, to fight, but he just squeezed her throat and she found the air limited with each tug of her arm.

“Don’t want to suffocate before you see the end of the show, do you?” The man in gray stood before her now, his eerie eyes just inches away from hers, his grin returning to its fully stretched out fashion. “It’s a shame how weak you are, considering what you’re supposed to be.” He flicked a tongue out and licked his lips, watching her. “Are you ready for your message my dear?”

Fiona couldn’t speak, the words lodged in her throat along with her air on the other side of the hand that constricted her wind pipe. The man in gray took her silence as a yes and stepped aside, his eyes sliding to Riddick. One of the two holding him released, taking a few steps back and pulling a blade from his pocket. Fiona instinctively pulled at the hold on her, trying desperately to get away. But the grip on her throat grew tighter and her vision blurred. She watched helpless, words trying to come out as Riddick used what strength he had left to lift his head and look up at her, the sun reflecting off the blood on his head. She needed him to rise, to fight, to win, but the strength was gone from him. She could see it there in his eyes, the darkness creeping in as a resigned.

“No...” The word croaked out and the man in gray laughed, nodding to his servant with the blade. With a quick motion the steel was lodged into Riddick’s abdomen, buried deep as he let out a cry and buckled over. Fiona pulled and pulled, the air lost in her lungs, the strength draining from her muscles.

“I’ll take your world from you, my dear. And that’s just the beginning.”

As his words reached her the hold on her throat and arm was removed. Fiona tumbled to the ground, gasping for air. She crawled across the space quickly, ignoring the eyes on her as she pushed Riddick up to inspect the damage. His shirt was saturated, the blood all over the ground, falling out of him so quickly. The blade was still in him and pulling it out would be the end, the hilt pressed so tightly to his skin. She removed her shirt, trying to suck up the blood and maybe slow the bleeding, but the fabric was drawling in the blood quickly and in no time she found her arms covered in the warmth too.

“No no...” Still trying to get air into her lungs, she shook, tears spilling from her eyes as she tried to whip away the blood from Riddick’s forehead. But she only made it worse, her frantic movements stirring in him a groan as he leaned towards her. She supported his weight, his lips pressed to her neck as he put his weight on her fully. “It’s going to be ok, it’ll be ok. I’ll fix you up and...”

“There isn’t enough medical supplies around to help that wound. Darling you’re going to need a miracle.” His chuckles bounded around the room but Fiona focused only on the slowing heartbeat of the man in her arms. She ran her fingers over his scalp, along his neck, down his arms, noting the temperature drop. He shivered, one of his hands reaching out and landing on her thigh, trying to establish a grip that faded quickly. He was slowly fading, his thrum in her ears getting faint, slow. The breath on her neck was getting weak. She tried to get her warmth to him but it wasn’t helping and the sobs escaped her so painfully as she repeated over and over it was going to be ok.

When the air went away she couldn’t feel him anymore. She ran her hands over him again, searching for something, anything to cling to. But his heart was gone, she couldn’t feel it in her chest anymore, just her own erratic beat as the deafening silence in her ears exploded.

Everything around them suddenly changed. Fiona clung to the lifeless form of Riddick as she held the air in her lungs. She felt no purpose to exhale as the world spun. And then there was nothing but warmth.

Catastrophic warmth whipping around her. She saw the flames before she heard a noise and she tried to pulled Riddick closer to shield his body from the burns. The screams of agony around her were lost as she steadied herself in the concave of warmth. It was gone as soon as it had been there and a hand was on her shoulder in no time. She pushed them away, letting out a hellish scream as she raised her head to glare at the men who had done this. But it wasn’t them, it was Bryan, his eyes filled with sorrow as he stared down at her, confused.

“Save him. Please god, Save him.” Her words were mutters before she blacked out.


	3. Chapter Three

All she could see was darkness. Even when she peeled her eyes open the world around her was pitch black. Nothing. Blank.

A strangled sob crawled its way out of her, the sound echoing in the vast empty as she raised her hand and moved it towards her face. She couldn’t see her fingers, she couldn’t gauge their distance, and she closed her eyes as she patted her face.

“Fiona.” The voice was soft, a whisper from behind that floated past her. She shivered, cold air carrying in with it. She knew that voice, knew that voice all too well. Years spent with the woman, training for something she had no desire to become. “I need you to wake up.”

But she couldn’t. The memories of what happened washed over her, visions sliding past her eye lids, Riddick. Blood, the knife. The air on her neck, his hand on her thigh, the last breath as his lungs stopped working. His life gone.

Her sobs expanded inside of her and she released an anguished cry, tears spilling from her eyes as she trembled. The scream filled the void but it was swallowed up by the nothing quickly, and just like him her grief was blanketed in darkness all too fast.

Aereon wasn’t there anymore. The silence cradled her as she peered into the darkness and tried desperately to forget.

* * *

When she opened her eyes next, time had passed. She could see a faint glow above, light shining down upon her just enough for her to make out the outline of her body, and the surface she was on. The bed was small, a pillow under her head, a sheet on the mattress, no blanket. She raised her hand once again and noted that the blood had been washed away from her skin. She was cleaner than she could remember, and her nails were trimmed.

Peering into the room Fiona squinted, trying to make out the walls that were around her, but she couldn’t see them. All she could see was the bed she was on and the thin paper cloth that acted as a dressing gown on her body. Sighing she dropped her head, staring up at the light before closing her eyes tightly.

“Are you awake?” Aereon was there, just inches from her. She could feel the air elemental all around her, the air growing colder.

“I don’t want to be.”

“You’re too strong to give up now.” Aereon reached out, fingers sliding over Fiona’s forehead. She didn’t move, didn’t acknowledge the touch, just tried to withdrawal inside herself as Aereon continued to mutter about her strength. But there was no strength, and she couldn’t find the words inside to explain that. Her strength had died, in her arms, bleeding and holding on to her. He was there for her in the end, like he had been for months, and she couldn’t save him.

* * *

The light was brighter when she woke next. The walls were taking form, only a few feet from where she lay. Pushing her body up, Fiona swung her legs off the bed and stood. There was no ache in her muscles, no scream from her joints. She wasn’t sure how long she had been in this solitary room, but the air was stifling warm around her. Pushing forward she spread her fingers out along the cold surface of the concrete wall and pressed her face to it. The cold was welcoming, her brain wreaking havoc on her.

“You must eat.” Fiona peered over her shoulder and looked up at the elemental, noting the wrinkles along her cheeks had grown. It had been so long since she had been close to this woman, and none of the memories she could recall at the moment were fond.

“I can’t.”

Aereon sighed and stepped back, moving towards the bed Fiona had just left. On the foot was a plate, sitting patiently, food neatly organized on it. Fiona could now smell it wafting towards her, but her memories told her this wasn’t real. That wasn’t real. She wasn’t in this room, she wasn’t in the darkness, she wasn’t really talking to Aereon. This was all in her head, a fabricated dream of her unconscious.

“Your dreams before weren’t this dark.” Aereon sank onto the mattress, watching as Fiona turned her body and pressed her back to the wall. “I remember when we would convene in here by waterfalls and meadows.”

“I didn’t know who I was then. I didn’t know...” _I didn’t know Riddick was alive let alone now dead_. The sob caught in her throat as she slammed her mouth shut and stared at Aereon hard.

“My child. You must fight this.”

“Isn’t this...” She pointed out the darkness, pushing off the wall and twirling as she moved towards Aereon. “what I am? Darkness, the lack of light, the lack of life. The depths inside the minds of everyone. The shadows in the corner.”

“Yes and no.” Aereon rose, moving away from her and sliding across the surface of the floor to the other side of the room. “You’ve changed so much since I’ve seen you last.”

“I don’t have the time for this small talk.” Fiona pushed forward and sank into her bed, the light above fading out completely, the food vanishing. She could still feel Aereon in the distance but as she closed her eyes the world faded back into complete darkness.

* * *

There was no white overhead light, just a dull red tone that radiated out from above her. As she opened her eyes the world around her took shape, rock walls, metal bars, the smell of minerals and the warmth. She was baking in it, her clothing now cargo pants and a black tank top. She pushed up on the mattress below and sat up, looking around the small cell she had only spent a few nights in on Crematoria. A few parts here and there were blurry, her memory not able to provide the proper details, but the gist was concrete. And as she rose completely and stood in the small space he stepped in, standing above her easily, moving closer.

Her heart hammered away as she peered up at him, his goggles gone. She didn’t like them, didn’t like the way they blocked off his beautiful eyes. He moved closer still and her memory of his body heat smacked her in the face as his strong smell wafted around her.

“Sleeping on the job I see.” His voice rumbled as he wrapped an arm around her and drew her closer, pressing her into his chest. She ignored his comment, breathing him in with now closed eyes as she pressed her forehead into him. He ran his other hand over her head, fingers threading through her hair softly. “Your memory of me is so gentle. I’m supposed to be a badass.”

She chucked, pushing back to look up at him and give him a smile. He returned it, dropping quickly and pressing a warm kiss to her lips. “You’re not that big and bad. At least... not with me.”

“That’s because I love you.”

She pushed away from him completely, putting space between them as the words came out of his mouth. The tears budded in her eyes as she stared at him, watching a face of confusion take over as he reached for her. She shook her head, bumping into the bed behind her. “Don’t say that.”

“But you know it. I wouldn’t say it if you didn’t know it.”

“I don’t know anything anymore. All I know is that you’re gone.” And then he faded, into darkness, into nothing. The world around him faded as well and the glow of his eyes was all that remained for a moment before she was shrouded in complete and eternal darkness again. The sobs reached through her chest and she cried, curling up on the bed and trying desperately to make the pain go away.

* * *

“This isn’t helping Aereon. Just tell her.” Bryan crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the elemental. Just in front of them both lay Fiona, her body still as she stayed stuck in her head, the machines beeping the rhythm of her existence.

“She needs to find the strength to live without him.” Aereon sighed and turned her attention away from the sleeping girl to the man on her left. He had pleaded with her time after time but it was getting him nowhere. “If she can’t do this then she’s better off dead.”

“How can you say that?” He moved away from the both of them, eyes bouncing to the other sleeping figure in the room. Significantly larger, monitors beeping quieter, the man was recovering quicker than they had all expected. Well, Aereon had expected, but her insight into the world was unspoken of. “He’s right there, if she just knew he was alive then she would open her eyes.”

“Yes.” Aereon joined Bryan, placing a soft hand on his shoulder, watching as he clinched his jawline and glared at the Furyan fast asleep. “But then she would wake to him gone. He needs to go to the underverse for everything to work.”


	4. Chapter Four

"Again." Bryan repositioned himself accordingly, placing the strapped on punching mats up and towards Fiona. He was covered in equipment, a mouth guard shoved in between his teeth for him to bite down on. He was covered in a gleaming layer of sweat, his hair matted to his forehead.

Fiona dropped her foot back, bending her knees slightly, raising her hands in a fighting stance. Squaring off with her jaw, she gave him a blank stare. With a second's hesitation she ground her teeth and lashed out.

Each hit was powerful. The air around them moved too slow to keep up, the blows reverberating, the sound lost in the time. Bryan was forced back, his arms aching as her kicks and punches drilled him into the soft dirt ground. A sizeable hole had already been formed from the backs of his heels, his body trying to stay upright.

With one last twirl, and one last kick, he collapsed, and Fiona stood triumphant.

"I don't see why she makes you do this with me." She relaxed, lending a hand out to him, offering him help up. He took it. The pads that had been on his arms were cracked, the hard leather exterior warped. They had seen their end just minutes ago. He pulled them off, dropping the parts on the ground around him, their weight being lost a relief. He would have bruises on his skin, his muscles tender for weeks.

"She wants you to be prepared."

"I was fucking born ready. I'm tired of waiting."

"She'll tell you when you're ready."

Grumbling, Fiona flicked him the bird, heading off across the field to the bench that sat on the far end of the sparring field. The entire outside effect was fake, the world they were in now just a simulation designed to bring to the people a warmth, a comfort. This particular space was a park during normal hours, but Bryan had clearance to claim it for themselves five days out of the week span. 

Just looking passed the computer-generated horizon, one could see the faint glow of the universe outside its grasp. The stars, the moons, the planets, the ships, the vast darkness of everything was out there. They were inside a simulation dome, one of the biggest and best, it floated in space, tethered to a massive port. A fake and glorious world.

Fiona sighed, taking a drink from her water. Her mind was wandering, reminding her of sun shine stuck between trees, eyes glowing in the distance, a chuckle brushing on the back of her neck. She ached for those days. She missed the freedom of a real planet, the uncertainty of the wild life around them.

"How long has it been?" She always questioned him of this, hoping that one day he would cave. He hadn't so far, but she was stubborn.

"You know I can't answer that question."

"I don't understand how you tolerate being her bitch boy Bryan, you of all people. Aren't you tired of being a servant?"

"I liked you better in the coma."

Fiona rolled her eyes, gathering up her few items. Bryan surveyed her for a moment, making sure nothing new was going back in. Without a word they started across the field towards the distant image of a blue house. They couldn't get closer, they couldn't touch it, an illusion to create a focal point for exit reference. Fiona felt the edge of the illusion before Bryan did, slipping right through the finely painted graphic mesh. He was hot on her heels, the hall in front of them leading down into the station.

She wasn't a prisoner, but she wasn't free. She had spent the better part of the last couple of years happily running from this nonsense. Trying to get rid of the bodies around her, trying to escape into a world where she could just be. Images of Johns, of his father, of Dahl... they all circled in her head. She let the memories attach her as she continued forward into a large open space, lockers spanning the two walls.

Bryan took her arm, leading her towards their things. He allowed her to gather her bag before he placed a small ring on her wrist. Its purpose was hidden behind the glamour of jewelry. She couldn't go more than four feet away from him as long as it was on her wrist.

"I would say two years." The words, part of a conversation she had thought they had left in the arena, were whispers. She felt their gravity as he continued to put his things away. He wouldn't look at her, wouldn't acknowledge her pleading eyes. She had been asking him for ages now, unsure of how long she had been stuck in her own head.

Two years.

She fell into line as they headed out and into the busy bustle of the metropolis they called home. Fiona stayed her required distance from Bryan as they followed the bustle of people. He would take her back to her room. When she was there she would be locked in, allowed to shower, and then she would be forced to study. Hours spent going over lore, over history, over the past. All things she had happily researched back when she was unaware of freedom and it's reach. Now, as it were, she was always guarded.

Two years. She frowned, stepping around a lady and her child, feeling the tug of the electric cuff that Bryan had on her wrist. When she had finally woke from the darkness that was her head, she was alone. It didn't entirely feel like being awake, the room a spitting image of what her mind had bathed her in. No lights, just blackness, and endless blanket around her; she hadn't wanted to see anything else for an entire life time after witnessing what she had.

A day did not pass where she did not think about those moments. His life, sitting on the edge of his being, his soul slipping from between his fingers. She had watched it leave him, watched a new kind of death sink into him that was all too permanent.

She shook the thoughts off, slipping into the hall on the far side of the quad behind Bryan. They walked past many doors, making their way just a little further before turning right and heading into a separate bay. Brian waved his hand before a sensor, a door unlocking just in front of them. Fiona watched as the large circular door slid out of the way, metal plating on both sides. She was faintly reminded of something dirty, something deep underground, but she pushed those memories away. She didn't want to compete with her old memories; she didn't want to see him.

"Get yourself cleaned up. I'll be by shortly to take you to class." Fiona nodded, watching as Bryan undid the bracelet on her arm. The giant door locked tightly behind them. She didn't hesitate heading off away from him, making her way through the halls to her little room. She let herself in, the door locking behind her after the room recognized her presence. She couldn't get back out if she wanted to, only Bryan could open the door when she was inside. She didn't waste time, the shower calling her name.

* * *

"I want you to put those memories in the back." Aereon's soft voice echoed inside Fiona's head. She sighed, her eyes pinched shut, face scrunched up. They did this on the daily, taking the two separate parts of Fiona's past and pulling them further apart. The memory loss up until her rekindle with Riddick, her past before she was converted, it all mixed together like two different people. Her brain had trouble piecing the time line together, it struggled understanding the emotions that connected the memories.

So Aereon simply showed her how to move them away. After what had felt like decades of hiding in that vast darkness of a room, curled up in a ball, memories walking around her talking and calling out to her, Aereon had had no choice. Some things had to be forgotten to make it easier.

"Did you see him today?" She asked this casually, Fiona opening her eyes instantly, shaking her head.

In the beginning, when she had woken up, he was there. She had thought him real, his skin felt real, his smell all around her. But when Aereon had come to visiting he vanished, leaving her staring at the blankness that she had been talking to. And so it was then that she started moving her memories around. Discarding some, tucking them away so they couldn't bother her. And he was still there, but as the time moved forward he stopped showing up so much. He had been angry at first, and she figured it was her subconscious trying to hold onto him for dear life.

When he no longer spoke, just stared upon her with his shined eyes, glowing in the shadows of where ever she was, she knew. It was in those moments, when she was alone, and he was watching, that she came to terms with it. She wasn't going to see him again.

And so, he vanished completely.

"That's good. Now, I think it's time for some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for you."

"Yeah, am I sparring someone a little bit more complicated?" Fiona watched as Aereon flicked in the space around her, a small smile gracing the old woman's face.

"You'll soon see, my child."


End file.
